March 26, 2020
7039-804B
21
4
Troubleshooting Guide
With proper installation, operation, and maintenance your wood appliance will provide years of trouble-free service. If
you do experience a problem, this troubleshooting guide will assist you or a qualified service person in the diagnosis of a
problem and the corrective action to be taken.
Start Fire Problems
Possible Cause
Solution
Can not get fire started
Excessive smoke or spillage
Burns too slowly
Not enough heat output
Not enough kindling/paper or no
kindling/paper
Use dry kindling, more paper. Arrange kindling &
wood for air movement.
Not enough air for fire to ignite
Check for restricted termination cap
Check for blockage of outside air kit (if installed).
Check for flue blockage.
Pre-warm flue before starting fire (refer to
Building a Fire
on
Check for adequate vent height (refer to
Chimney
Height / Rise and Run
on
page 13
of the
Installation manual).
Open window below the appliance towards the
wind.
Wood condition is too wet, too
large
Use dry, seasoned wood (refer to
Wood Selection
& Storage
Bed of coals not established before
adding wood
Start with paper & kindling to establish bed of
coals (refer to
Building a Fire
on
).
Flue blockage such as birds’ nests
or leaves in termination cap
Have chimney inspected for creosote and cleaned
by a certified chimney sweep.
Down draft or negative pressure
Competition with exhaust devices
Do not use exhaust fans during start-up (refer to
Negative Pressure
).
Open window below the appliance towards
the wind.
Fire burns too fast
Extremely dry or soft wood
Mix in hardwood.
Mix in less seasoned wood after fire is established
(refer to
Wood Selection & Storage
on
).
Over drafting
Check for correct vent height; too much vertical
height creates over drafting.
Check location of vent termination (refer to
Chimney Termination Requirement
on
page 12
of the Installation manual).
Table 21.1
